Historical Timeline
From 1700s to the Present
1700s
1722 British Privy Council memorandum sets out doctrines of discovery & conquest
1740s Russians begin trading on BC coast
1741 Danish explorer Vitus Bering explores the BC coast
1763 Royal Proclamation of King George III recognizes aboriginal title and rights to land
1770s Captain Cook explores the West Coast
1774-9 Spanish explorer Juan Perez sights Queen Charlotte Islands & visits off Vancouver Island
1775 Juan Francisco de Bodega y Quadra penetrates close to the Nass River
1776 Small pox epidemic
1778 Captain Cook charts Nootka Sound on his third expedition to the Pacific
1785 Maritime trading voyages begin along Pacific coast (to 1820s)
1787 Captain George Dixon meets Haida and names the Queen Charlotte Islands
1788 Alaska is claimed as Russian territory
1789 Alexander Mackenzie reaches Arctic Ocean and explores Slave & Mackenzie Rivers
1789 Spanish build fort in Nootka Sound
1790 Nootka convention between Spain and Britain
1792 Captain George Vancouver charts most of Georgia Straight
1793 Alexander Mackenzie reaches Pacific in first overland crossing of North America
1780s Epidemics appear on the Pacific Northwest coast
1800s
1803 Maquinna’a people attack and kill most of the crew of the Boston
1804 Fort Simpson established by Northwest Company
1805 Lewis & Clark expedition first to travel overland in US from Atlantic to Pacific
1805 Fort St. John established by Northwest Company
1805 Mcleod’s Lake post established by Simon Fraser
1805 Fort Nelson established on Liard River
1805 Hudson Hope post established at Rocky Mountain Portage
1806 Fort St. James established on Stuart Lake
1806-7 Fort Fraser post established by HBC at Fraser Lake
1807 Road built from Fort St. James to Fort McLeod
1807 David Thompson visits the Kutenai. Kutenai House established
1808 Simon Fraser explores Fraser River and meets Indians at Lytton
1811 David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Columbia River
1811 The ship Tonquin is captured and the crew killed in the Clayoquot area
1812 Fort Astoria acquired and renamed Fort George after War of 1812
1812 Astorian and Northwest Company establish posts in Kamloops
1820 Permanent HBC post established at Fort George
1821 Northwest Company and Hudson’s Bay Company merge, known as HBC
1822 Fort Kilmaurs (Babine) established
1824 Fatal epidemic (cause unidentified) in Columbia River drainage (to 1825)
1824 54° 40’ established as boundary separating American and Russian spheres of influence
1825 HBC becomes active on the northwest coast
1826 Fort Vancouver established by HBC on Columbia River
1827 Fort Langley established
1828 Chief Factor John McLoughlin takes charge of area west of the Rockies
1828 James Douglas is captured in Carrier territory and released after negotiations
1828 Clallum village shelled by HBC gunboat
1828 Fort Alexandria established
1829 Fort Halkett established by HBC on Liard River
1829 Rev. Jonathan Smith Green (Protestant) tours Northwest coast
1830 Indian Affairs transferred from military to civilian jurisdiction in the Canadas (east)
1830 First Chilcotin post established by HBC
1830s HBC begins innoculating Native people against small pox
1831 Fort Simpson built on Nass River then moved to Tsimshian Peninsula
1832 A.C. Anderson of the HBC arrives at the Columbia River
1833 Fort McLoughlin established in 1833 in Lama Passage, it was later abandoned in 1843
1834 James Douglas becomes Chief Trader of the HBC
1835 Coal deposit at Fort Rupert publicized
1836 HBC Chaplain and missionary Reverend Herbert Beaven arrives at Fort Vancouver
1836 Small pox epidemic in northern BC and southern Alaskan coast (to 1838)
1836 Indian reports of coal on Vancover Island confirmed
1837 Dease Lake post established by HBC
1838 HBC granted 21 year exclusive hunting and trading license to northwest coast
1838 First Roman Catholic priests arrive at Fort Vancouver (F. Blanchet and M. Demers)
1839 James Douglas becomes Chief Factor of HBC
1840s Jesuit Priest Father Pierre De Smet is in Kootenays and Okanagan
1840s Father John Nobilis active in northern New Caledonia
1842 Fort Victoria established by HBC
1842 Father Demers active in New Caledonia
1843 HBC begins laying out land boundaries
1846 Oregon Treaty establishes 49th parallel as US-British boundary
1846 HBC’s Pacific Headquarters shifts from Oregon (Columbia River) to Victoria
1846-7 A.C. Anderson explores routes between Thompson and Lower Fraser Rivers
1847 Measles epidemic (to 1850)
1848-9 Fort Hope established by HCB
1849 Royal Charter grants Vancouver Island to the HBC
1849 Richard Blanshard becomes first Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
1849 Chief Factor James Douglas receives direction to negotiate with VI Tribes
1849 Fort Rupert established by HBC to supply coal to an American steamship line
1849 Coal deposits at Nanaimo publicized
1850 Douglas concludes treaties in Victoria, Sooke & Metchosin
1850 Measles epidemic spreads from coast to interior
1850s OMI Bishop Pierre Paul Durieu comes to the Northwest coast
1850s Peter O’Reilly is Stipendiary Magistrate in Langley, then Fort Hope
1850-1 Royal Navy destroys Newitti Village
1851 Douglas becomes Governor but remains Chief Factor of the HBC (to 1858)
1851 Douglas concludes treaties in Fort Rupert
1851 Joseph Despard Pemberton becomes Colonial Surveyor
1851 Gunter’s Chain unit of land measurement introduced
1851 Gold found on Queen Charlotte Islands. Gunboats sent to Queen Charlotte Islands
1852 Douglas concludes treaties on Saanich peninsula
1852-3 Cowichan crisis. Gunboat dispatched
1853 Peak of the California gold rush
1852 James Douglas becomes Lieutenant-Governor of the Queen Charlotte Islands
1854 Douglas concludes treaty in Nanaimo
1855 Nanaimo coalfields purchased by HBC
1856-7 Nlaka’pamux force American miners to retreat
1857 Anglican missionary William Duncan arrives in Victoria
1857 Anglicans establish Indian school at Fort Simpson
1857 Methodists establish Indian school in Nanaimo
1857 British Parliamentary inquiry into the affairs of the HBC
1857 Colonial proclamation claims all gold mines. Gold mining licences introduced
1858 Edward Bulwer-Lytton is Secretary of State for the Colonies
1858 British Columbia Act. New Caledonia becomes Colony of British Columbia
1858 James Douglas resigns from HBC to become Governor of mainland Colony of BC
1858 British government passes act establishing direct rule on the mainland
1858 Colonel R. C. Moody is Commissioner of Lands & Works (CLW) to 1864
1858 Royal Engineers undertake mapping of BC mainland
1858 Douglas reserves are laid out on BC mainland (to 1864) under Douglas’ policy
1858 Colonial proclamation states that all land is vested in the crown
1858 Indian people have right to pre-empt vacant crown land during Douglas’s governorship
1858 Oblates of Mary Immaculate establish a centre at Esquimalt
1858 Gunboats sent to New Caledonia (BC)
1858 Fraser River Gold Rush
1858 Steam boats penetrate Fraser River as far as Yale
1858 Pack trail is established between Yale and Lytton
1858 Construction of Harrison-Lillooet road commenced
1859 Gold Fields Act sets out Gold Commissioner’s duties and miners’ water rights
1859 HBC trading license on Vancouver Island expires. James Douglas becomes Governor
1859 J.D. Pemberton becomes Surveyor General of Vancouver Island
1859 Douglas appoints first Gold Commissioners & Stipendiary Magistrates
1859 Douglas reduces price of surveyed land
1859 First Methodist missionaries at work in BC
1859 Father Charles Pandosy (OMI) active in the Okanagan. Catholic mission established
1859 Peter O’Reilly (Joseph Trutch’s brother-in-law) becomes Assistant Gold Commissioner
1859 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (Anglican) comes to BC
1859 Methodists E. Evans, A. Browning, E. Robson and E. White active in Victoria
1860s Douglas or pre-Confederation reserves laid out (mostly to 1864; none after 1871)
1860s William Cox is Gold Commissioner at Rock Creek
1860s Commercial fishing begins to develop
1860 Edgar Dewdney and Walter Moberly open Dewdney trail between Hope & Similkameen
1860 Royal Engineers widen Douglas-Lilloet trail into wagon road
1860 Similkameen post established by HBC
1860 Proclamation establishes procedures for pre-emption of unsurveyed agricultural land
1860 J.D. Pemberton is Surveyor-General Vancouver Island (to 1864)
1860 Victoria Gas Company founded
1860 Anglicans establish Indian school near Victoria
1861 Legislative Assembly of VI asks England for funds to extinguish aboriginal title; denied
1861 Pre-emption Amendment Act
1861 St. Mary’s Catholic mission established near Mission City (to 1984)
1861 Gold discovered in the Upper Peace River region
1861 Harrison-Lillooet wagon road completed
1861 Proclamation consolidates laws relating to the settlement of unsurveyed crown lands
1861 Country Land Purchase Act
1861 Gold Commissioners also become Assistant Commissioner of Lands
1861 John Carmichael Haynes is Gold Commissioner at Rock Creek
1861 Coqualeetza residential school established at Sardis (to 1940)
1861 Pre-Emption Purchase Act
1861 Colonial policy: Reserves to be defined as pointed out by the natives themselves
1861 Pre-Emption Consolidation Act
1862 Cariboo region divided into two parts, Cariboo East & West (to 1865)
1862 Metlakatla mission established (to 1887)
1862 Thomas Crosby (Protestant) active in Nanaimo
1862 Indians allowed to pre-empt land conditionally
1862 Smallpox epidemic reduces aboriginal populations in BC (to 1863)
1862 Peak of the Cariboo Gold Rush
1862 Gold rush on Stikine
1862 Building of Cariboo Road between Yale and Barkerville commenced (completed in 1865)
1863 Royal Engineers recalled to England; some individuals stay in BC
1863 Mining District Act
1863 William Cox is Justice of the Peace and Gold Commissioner for the Cariboo
1863 Road between Spence’s Bridge and Clinton completed
1863 Peter O’Reilly is a member of the BC Legislative Council (to 1871)
1863 St. Mary’s mission established by the Oblates
1864 Peter O’Reilly becomes Chief Gold Commissioner
1864 Western Union Telegraph Company decides to build telegraph through BC
1864 First Telegraph Act
1864 Rev. Robert Doolan begins mission among the Nishga
1864 B.W. Pearse is Surveyor General of Vancouver Island (to 1866)
1864 Governor Douglas retires
1864 Wagon road to Cottonwood completed
1864 Ahousat villages destroyed by Royal Navy
1864 Burrard mission established in Squamish territory
1864 Joseph Trutch is Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works (to 1871)
1864 Douglas policy is reversed. Douglas reserves cut back by CCLW Trutch
1864 Joseph Trutch is Surveyor General for BC
1864 J.C. Haynes is Gold Commissioner for Kootenay area
1864 Chilcotin Nation uprising against Bute Inlet wagon road building party. Manhunt follows
1864 Some members of the Chilcotin Nation tried and hanged for uprising deaths
1864 Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition
1864 Legislative Council resolution calls for adjustment of Fraser Valley reserves
1864 Queen’s birthday celebration. Indians ask Governor Seymour to protect their lands
1864 British Vancouver Island Coal Mining Company buys HBC coal fields at Nanaimo
1865 Construction of Dewdney Trail completed
1865 An Ordinance for regulating the Acquisition of Land in BC
1865 International Telegraph Ordinance
1865 New Westminster is connected by telegraph to the United States
1865 Indian Graves Ordinance
1865 Western Union builds telegraph line north to Quesnel
1865 First grazing legislation enacted
1865 Philip Nind is Gold Commissioner at Lytton
1865 Vancouver Island Legislative Assembly calls for reserves to be opened up to settlement
1865 Fort Rupert village destroyed by HMS Clio
1866 Chilliwack is connected by telegraph to the United States
1866 Post established at Hagwilget by HBC
1866 Post established at Quesnel by HBC
1866 Union of colonies of Vancouver Island and BC
1866 Western Union Telegraph line & trail reaches Kispiox River
1866 Legislative Council discusses the adjustment of Indian reserves
1866 Pre-Emption Ordinance bars Indian people from pre-empting land (to 1953)
1866 New Westminister becomes capital of new colony of BC
1866 North America and Europe connected by cable
1867 Conveyance of Vancouver Island from HBC to the crown
1867 St. Joseph’s mission established in Williams Lake
1867 Constitution Act s.91(24). Canada responsible for Indians and lands reserved for Indians
1867 Barkerville post established by HBC
1867 An Ordinance to prevent the violation of Indian Graves
1867 Reverend Good establishes St. Paul’s mission in Lytton area
1867 Petition from 70 BC Indian Chiefs forwarded by Governor Seymour to England
1867 Legislative Council motion calls for Lower Fraser reserves to be defined & reduced
1867 Governor Seymour says reserves will not be reduced without his personal inspection
1867 Alaska is transferred to the US from Russia
1867 Gold Mining Ordinance
1868 Capital of BC moved to Victoria from New Westminister
1868 Fisheries Act of Canada does not affect BC Fisheries
1868 Matsqui Indians forward petition protesting the reduction of their reserve by Trutch
1868 Dominion passes Rupert’s Land Act
1869 Anthony Musgrave is Governor of united colony (to 1871)
1869 HBC acquires post at Masset
1869 Superintendent General of Indian Affairs empowered to grant location tickets
1869 Transcontinental railway link completed in American territory
1869 An Ordinance respecting Indian Reserves empowers local officials to settle land disputes
1869 Mineral Ordinance
1869 Omineca gold rush begins
1870s Economic depression in BC
1870s Methodists active in Victoria and Nanaimo areas
1870 Terms of Union confirms Dominion government’s responsibility for Indians
1870 Transfer of HBC lands to Canada
1870 Land Ordinance. Crown reserves right to resume land for roads
1870 British North America (BNA) Act gives province control over land (s. 92)
1870 Timber lands begin to be leased
1870 Fort Grahame established by HBC
1870 Mission established at Cowichan
1870 Pelagic sealing industry established (to 1911)
1871 Bella Bella post established by HBC at old Ft. Loughlin site
1871 Telegraph line from New Westminster to Quesnel comes under Dominion jurisdiction
1871 Joseph Trutch is Lieutenant-Governor (to 1876)
1871 BC enters Confederation. Indians remain the responsibility of the federal government
1871 Indian Affairs administered by the Secretary of State (to 1873)
1871 BC Government agents take over all non-mining duties from Gold Commissioners
1871 Exploratory surveys to determine route of CPR begun (to 1879)
1871 BC and Canada begin debate about the size of Indian reserves. Issue never resolved
1871 Constitution Act establishes authority of provincial departments and officials
1871 Lands and Works Department created to survey, map and administer BC Lands
1871 Peter O’Reilly works in Ominica as Gold Commissioner, tax collector and Indian Agent
1871 Canning Industry begins with establishment of Fraser River Canneries
1871 Mission established at Sechelt
1871 Indian people not allowed to fish commercially (to 1923)
1871 Schedule of All Indian Reserves (Surveyed) in the Province of BC (BC)
1871 Port Essington shipping and canning centre founded
1871 Bishop George Hills protests Indian policy to the Dominon
1872 Small pox epidemic in BC
1872 First Central Registry File system called the Red Series (Eastern Canada) established
1872 The right to vote in BC elections withdrawn from Indian people in BC (to 1949)
1872 Dr. Israel Wood Powell appointed (Victoria-based) Indian Superintendent (to 1889)
1872 Dominion Homestead Act
1872 G. A. Walkem is briefly CCLW
1872 Robert Beaven becomes CCLW (to1876)
1872 First railway survey party enters Peace River region
1872 Province makes public education free
1872 San Juan Island becomes part of US
1873 July 1 deadline for starting construction on the CPR expires
1873 Report of J.W. Powell on various tribes in BC including a Schedule of Reserves & Leases
1873 Matthew Baillie Begbie is Chief Justice in BC
1873 Indian Superintendent granted magisterial (enforcement) powers
1873 Sir Alexander Campbell represents the Department of the Interior
1873 Methodist mission established at Fort Simpson.
1873 Metlakatla residential school established (to1908)
1873 Northwest Mounted Police formed
1873 Mission established at Fort St. James
1873 Bill providing for destitute Indians and halfbreeds of BC
1873 I.W. Powell visits coastal Indians
1873 Department of the Interior created. David Laird responsible (to 1876)
1873 Indian & Indian Lands branch set up under the Dept. of the Interior (to 1880)
1874 Petition of chiefs of the Lower Fraser expressing discontent over land settlement in BC
1874 BC Indians concerns presented to Privy Council by Interior Minister David Laird
1874 BC Land Act lets province alienate land without regard for aboriginal title. Disallowed
1874 BC Gazette notice reserving 20-mile wide strip along east coast of VI for a railway
1874 Glenora post established by HBC at Telegraph Creek
1874 St. Eugene mission established at Cranbrook
1874 Indian Board established in BC (to 1875)
1874 L. Vankoughnet is the Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in Ottawa
1874 Earl of Carnarvon is Secretary of State for the Colonies
1874 I.W. Powell is Visiting Superintendent & Indian Commissioner (to 1880)
1874 James Lenihan is New Westminster-based Assistant Indian Superintendent (to 1875)
1874 Father Grandidier expresses concern about the grievances of BC Indians
1874 Crosby Girls Home in Port Simpson established (to 1948)
1875 BC land Act of 1874 is disallowed by Canada because it disregards aboriginal title
1875 Papers Connected with the Indian Land Question published as BC Sessional Papers
1875 Canadian Geological Survey’s G.M. Dawson begins explorations in BC (to 1878)
1875 Revised BC Land Act provides for Indian reserves (s. 60)
1875 Esquimalt and Naniamo Railway Act (grant of lands for railway purposes to Canada)
1875 Sub-agents are hired in various districts
1875 Land is available to settlers free of charge (to 1879)
1875 G.M. Dawson explores BC for the Canadian Geological Survey (through 1878)
1875 Indian Board abolished in favour of Indian superintendency system
1875 BC divided into two superintendencies, Victoria & Fraser (located in New Westminster)
1875 James Lenihan is Superintendent of the Fraser (Mainland) Superintendency
1875 I.W. Powell is Superintendent of the Victoria (VI & N. Coast) Superintendency
1875 Superintendents report to Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in Ottawa
1875 Superintendents required to submit yearly activity reports to headquarters
1876 David Mills represents the Department of the Interior (to 1878)
1876 Canadian Governor General Lord Dufferin appeals for fair treatment of Indian claims
1876 Joint Indian Reserve Commission is established; reversionary interest is shared equally
1876 A.C. Anderson represents Dominion on Joint Indian Reserve Commission (to 1877)
1876 A. McKinley represents the province on the Joint Indian Reserve Commision (to 1877)
1876 G.M. Sproat is the joint federal/provincial representative on the JIRC (to 1880)
1876 First Federal Indian Act passed; consolidates all previous legislation concerning Indians
1876 Federal proclamation excludes Indian lands and resources in BC from the Indian Act
1876 James Lenihan makes a confidential report on the Indians of BC
1876 G.M. Sproat memorandum on Minister of Interior on Indian rights
1876 Federal PCOC extends federal Fisheries Act to BC; A.C. Anderson is Fisheries Inspector
1876 F.G. Vernon is CCLW (to 1878)
1876 Lower Post established by HBC on Liard River; McDame’s Creek Post on Dease River
1876 Order-in-council proclaims that the Fisheries Act of Canada extends to BC
1876 Indian people excluded from voting in municipal elections
1876 Anglican mission estabished at Masset village
1877 Indian reserve allotments require Executive Council approval (in addition to CCLW)
1877 Joint Reserve Commission issues report with some census information